Composite package



A g- 4 L. L. SALFISBERG COMPOSITE PACKAGE Filed Oct. 31, 1942 NVENTOR zi BY 040 I J ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 3, 19%3 2,325,921 COIVIPOSITEPACKAGE Leroy L. Salflsberg, South Orange, N. J assignor to Ivers-LeeCompany, Newark, N. J., a corporation of Delaware.

Application October 31, 1942, Serial No. 464,002

2 Claims.

This invention relates in general to packages for small articles such astablets, pills or buttons,

or powdered or granulated substances, or liquid or paste, andparticularly the invention contemplates a package of the type that isdisclosed in my copending application Serial No. 444,670, filed May 27,1942, wherein a bag or envelope having an initially open, or a sealedmouth and foldable closure therefor, is enclosed within a cover that isfoldable about the bag and cooperates with said foldable closure so asto hold the latter in closed position when the cover is folded toenclose the bag and to release said foldable closure when the cover isunfolded for access to the bag or envelope, whereby the bag can berepeatedly opened and closed and is held firmly closed. When the coveris unfolded or opened, the bag is wholly exposed and accessible forviewing and removing the contents. Generally the contents are removed bysqueezing the front and rear walls of the bag between th thumb and afinger to force the contents outwardly from the mouth of the bag.

In the package described in my aforesaid application, the bag is securedor attached to the cover only at one end of the bag so that the bag mayswing about said end relatively to the cover, and the cover has aportion, such as a flap to enter the fold of said foldable closure so asto hold the latter folded and closed and also hold the bag flat inproper position and against crumpling in the cover. However, it ispossible for the user of the package to forget to insert said portion orflap of the cover into said fold of the closure, so that the closure maynot be properly folded or tightly closed and the bag may become crumpledin the cover. Furthermore the bag might be torn or damaged by a carelessuser in squeezing the contents from the bag. Also the foldable closuremust be unfolded directly and manually, and this is sometime difl'icultdue to setting of the closure in folded condition, especially when thebag is formed of material such as Cellophane, Pliofilm, metallic foiland the like.

Therefore, one object of the present invention is to provide a packageof the character described which shall embody novel and improvedfeatures of construction such that the bag shall be held permanently andfirmly in proper position and against crumpling in the cover, saidfoldable closure shall be positively and automatically folded andunfolded as the cover is folded and unfolded respectively, and saidcover shall reenforce the bag and serve as a slideway or guide for thecontents as the latter are squeezed from the bag.

Other objects, advantages and results of the invention will be broughtout by the following description in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawing in which Figure 1 is a front perspective view of a packageembodying my invention, showing the package unfolded for opening.

Figure 2 is a side elevational view thereof.

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 1 showing the package unfolded andopen.

Figure 4 is a central vertical sectional view through the packageshowing it completely folded and closed.

Figure 5 is a horizontal sectional view on the line 5-5 of Figure 1showing the manner of pressing the contents from the package.

Figure 6 is a similar view on the line 6-6 of Figure 1.

Figure 7 is a view like Figure 1 showing a modification of theinvention, and

Figure 8 is a central vertical sectional view through the packageillustrated in Figure '7, showing it completely folded and closed.

Specifically describing the form of the invention shown in Figures 1 to5 inclusive, the package comprises a bag, envelope or like container Aformed of suitable material, preferably thin and flexible sheet or stripmaterial such as paper, "Cellophane, Pliofilm, metallic foil, cloth orthe like, especially sheet material which itself is thermoplastic andcan be softened by heat or has a thermoplastic or fusible coating, sothat the juxtaposed layers of material can be fused or caused to adheretogether by application of heat and pressure, or with glue, to form aseal.

As shown, the bag comprises two. opposed layers or sheets a and b ofpackaging material joined together, as by sealing, under heat andpressure, along one transverse or end margin I and longitudinal or sidemargins 2, to form a, compartment or receptacle 3 for articles or acommodity, for example tablets a: to be packaged. The layers a and b atthe other end of the bag are sealed or bonded together in a sealingflange 5 to close the compartment and make it tamper-proof, certainjuxtaposed portions of the layers in said flange being unsealed to forma restricted discharge neck 6 leading outwardly from the compartment forremoval of the contents thereof.

Preferably the layers in the sealed zones I, 2 and 5 are alsointerdigitated or corrugated, both for greater security and forstiffening the edges of the bag.

The Sealing fl nge 5 has a tearing flap 1 extending across saiddischarge neck as shown in Figure 1, for producing a discharge openingfor the compartment 9 when the flap is torn oil! as shown in Figure 4.Moreparticularly the free marginal end portion of the sealing flange isscored or weakened along a line 8 which crosses the discharge neck tofacilitate removal of the tearing flap.

The bag is folded transversely through the sealing flange and acrosssaid discharge neck between the compartment and the tearing flange, asindicated at 9, so that after the bag has been opened by removal of thetearing flap, it is closable by folding the bag along said fold 9.

The bag is especially adaptable to the packaging and dispensing of smallarticles, such as tablets, or flowing substances, such as powder, thedischarge neck facilitating single delivery of the small articles orpouring of a small stream of flowing substance.

It will be understood that the layers a and b are sealed togetherinwardly of said fold 9, or in other words, the fold traverses thesealed zone so that should the bag be torn along the fold by mistake orby wear, only the relatively small neck 6 will be opened, rather thanthe whole side of the compartment, and such a small opening can beclosed relatively easily.

The ba A is associated with a cover I which is foldable around thebag toenclose and protect it and also to receive printed matter such asadvertising media. Preferably the cover is formed of a single strip ofmaterial relatively stiffer than thematerial of which the bag is formed,and is folded at around'and secured to the end of the bag opposite thesealing flange as by adhesive or by heat and crimping where the materialof which the bag is formed is thermoplastic.

The body portion 0 of the cover strip lies along or is juxtaposed to oneside of the bag A, and the cover strip has a second fold l l to receivethe fold 9 of the bag and to form a cover flap D that is hingedlyconnected at l l to the body portion of the cover strip. The flap D isfolded at l2 to form two hingedly connected sections l3 and H, thelatter of which is adapted to be arranged in side-by-side relation toand beneath the section i3 as the cover is folded about the package. Thesection I3 is of a size to cover the side of the package opposite thebody portion of the cover strip, and the section I4 is of such size thatits free end edge l5 may separably enter the fold 9 of the bag so as tostretch and hold flat the ba between said fold and the point ofconnection ill of the bag with the cover and at the same time hold thetransverse fold 9 of the bag between said end edge l5 and the fold ll ofthe cover when the cover is folded around the bag to enclose it, as mostclearly shown in Figure 4 of the drawing.

The rear wall a of the bag, i. e., the side of the bag that is adjacentthe body portion 0 of the cover, is permanently secured to the cover atopposite sides of the transverse folds 9 and II of the bag and cover,and the other or front wall or side of the bag is exposed and accessiblewhen the flap D is unfolded. More particularly the longitudinal margins2 of the bag are secured to the cover at one side of said folds 9 and Has at l6, and said margins are secured to the flap of the cover at theother side of said folds as at IT. This construction and arrangement ofthe parts ensures that the bag shall be held firmly against the bodyportion of the cover, and the portion of the bag outwardly of the fold 9is constrained by said cover flap D accurately to fold and unfold assaid flap is folded and unfolded respectively. However, the portions ofthe rear wall a of the bag are free from the cover between thelongitudinal margins pit the bag, as shown in Figures 4 and 5 andconsequently are flexible so that the strains imposed by the bag andcover upon each other incident to the fold ing will be reduced to theminimum and the walls of the bag may easily accommodate themselves tothe contents of the bag. In other words, the wall a of the bag will havea minimum tendency to hinder closing of the CiOSlll'G flap D of thecover and the cover will have a minimum of tendency to tear the walls ofthe bag as the cover is folded around the bag.

After the bag has been unfolded and opened the contents, 1. e., thetablets a: may be ejected from the mouth 0 by pressing or squeezing thewall of the package between the thumb and forefinger at a point behindthe tablet or substance to be ejected, as shown in Figure 5. During thisoperation the body portion of the cover reenforces the bag and forms arelatively stiff and smooth guide surface for sliding of the tablet orother substance to and through the mouth 0. The possibility of injury tothe bag is reduced and the bag is prevented from becoming crumpled ordisplaced in the cover. Suitable means may be provided for holding theclosure flap D in its cover-closing position, but as shown the marginalend portion [8 of the cover strip beyond the fold I0 is in spacedrelation to the side of the bag A so as to releasably receive the foldl2 of the closure flap when the cover is folded around the package, tohold the closure flap against unfolding, as shown in Figures 3 and 4.

With this construction it will be observed that the fold ill of thecover strip closes and reenforces one end of the bag A, the coverprotects the relatively thin and weak material of the bag, the coverflap firmly holds the closure fold 9 of the bag against unfolding, andthe section M of the closure flap also serves in the nature of a springfollower and stretches and holds the bag in proper position and againstcrumpling or displacement in the cover. After the bag has been openedinitially by removal of the tearing flap I, the bag can be closed andopened repeatedly by simple folding and unfolding of the cover flap Cand the fold 9 of the bag.

It may be preferred for some purposes to leave the whole end of the bagE initially open and unsealed as indicated at I9 in Figure '7 so thatthe bag initially and at all times will be closed by folding of the bagalong the transverse fold line 20.

Also, it is possible to omit the section [4 of the closure flap of thecover and to utilize a closure flap F having one section which can befolded coincidently with the fold 20 to close the bag and the free endof which can be tucked between the front wall of the bag and themarginal end portion 2| of the cover strip, all as shown in Figures 7and 8.

The bag E may be secured to the cover G in the same manner in which thebag A is attached to the cover B.

In some cases it may be desirable to initially seal the layers ofpackaging material together to close the bag along a narrow zone 22'inwardly of the scored line 8, as shown in Figure 1, or inwardly of theend of the bag where no tearing flap is used, so that the layers in saidnarrow zone can be forced apart or separated to open the bag by simplysqueezing or pushing the contents of the bag, e. g., a tablet, outwardlybetween said layers across said zone.

Other modifications in the structure and combination of the bag andcover will occur to those skilled in the art as within the spirit andscope of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. A package comprising a bag of flexible material openable at one endto form a mouth and having a. transverse fold inwardly of said end toform a foldable closure for said mouth, and a cover comprising a stripof relatively stiff material having a body portion at one side of saidbag and a transverse fold to nicely receive said transverse fold of thebag and to form a flap to overlie the other side of the bag, thefirst-mentioned side of said bag being permanently secured along itslongitudinal margins to said cover at opposite sides of said transversefold of the bag and being otherwise free from said cover and the coverand the second-mentioned side of said bag being exposed and accessiblewhen said flap of the cover is unfolded, so that said foldable closurewill be closed and opened automatically by and when said flap is foldedand unfolded respectively, said bag willbe exposed when said flap isunfolded to permit the contents of the bag to be squeezed out of the bagby pressure on the front wall of the bag, the first-mentioned wall ofthe bag is flexible independently of said cover, and said body portionof the cover will reenforce said bag and provide a smooth guide surfacefor sliding of said contents and will prevent crumpling of said bag atall times.

2. The package set forth in claim 1 wherein said marginal portions ofboth walls of the bag are secured to both said body portion and saidflap along zones that traverse said transverse folds of said bag andsaid cover.

LEROY L. SALFISBERG.

